Relief
by AshAnime
Summary: Shikamaru doesn't know whether to be annoyed or curious when Ino comes to him with a problem one evening. What should he name the feeling he gets after she confesses her problem? ONESHOT! ShikaIno! (Sasuke is mentioned)


**DISCLAIMER**: Even though it would be really cool if I did, I DONT OWN NARUTO OR NARUTO SHIPPUDEN!

Hope you guys like this little oneshot I quickly put together. I suddenly got the idea and I couldn't shake it until it was typed. PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!

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**Relief**

_by: AshAnime_

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It was an especially windy day when Shikamaru decided to head up to his favorite spot and cloud-watch. Returning there every afternoon was a habit he couldn't shake. It reminded him of his genin days, cigarette smoke and who he really was.

The day was almost surreal and perfect, until a certain loud-mouth blond decided to show up. There were many times when he tried to tell Ino how much she and Naruto obnoxiously had in common, but all the Yamanaka would give in return was glare.

Shikamaru inwardly groaned and watched out of the corner of his eye as she ascended the hill. He was slightly irritated at the fact that he would now have to kiss his peaceful evening goodbye. Yet he frowned at the way her head bowed in deep thought. It wasn't like Ino to walk around looking all depressed and pouting.

"Shikamaru?" Before he knew it she was right there beside him. The tip of her blond ponytail nearly brushed his nose as she leaned forward to stare down at him.

"What?" he grumbled, trying and failing to lift the frown off his face. Ino scowled at her teammate's attitude and lowered herself to a sit. Shikamaru didn't know why his behavior surprised her, after all he was just being himself.

"I wanted to…" the young blonde pulled on her ponytail and turned so that her back was to Shikamaru's observant eyes. He watched as she hugged her legs and rested her chin in her knees. His curiosity was definitely heightened now. Shikamaru couldn't remember the last time Ino was ever speechless.

"What is it?" he urged, feigning impatient irritation.

Ino's shoulders slumped and she sighed. "I wanted to talk to you about something. Something really important."

Shikamaru raised a single dark brow. "And that is?"

"Sasuke." Ino took that moment to quickly look back at her shadow friend. He was wearing an annoyed yet confused expression. Why in the world would Ino come to him to talk about Sasuke? Isn't that what she had Sakura for?"

"Are you sure-?" His question was cut short by the flustered Kunoichi.

"I tried talking to Chouji, but he couldn't hear me over the crunching of his chips! I even visited Sakura… but I chickened out at the last minute," Ino argued, her back stiff. The blue flecks in her eyes glowed as the sun continued to descend in the distance.

Shikamaru, with the back of his head still resting on his hands, tried not to smirk at Ino's last statement. "You? Scared of talking to Sakura? This really is serious then."

Ino nodded slowly.

Grunting, Shikamaru slowly rose to a slouching sit and stared over at her. He most definitely wasn't the type to talk to girls about their boy problems, especially Ino, but if she was this upset about it he supposed Asuma Sensei would have encouraged him to help. "Alright," he murmured, "what about Sasuke?"

Ino licked her lips and closed her eyes before turning to face the lazy Nara next to her. "The problem is… I'm over him."

Shikamaru blinked. "You're what?"

Ino laughed dryly and looked past Shikamaru, focusing on the trees behind him. "I'm over him," she said again, a little louder this time. "I woke up this morning and realized… that I'm over Sasuke Uchiha."

Shikamaru tried to catch eye contact with Ino again, but the girl was dazed. He could kind of see why she was probably freaking out though. The Ino before him today was partially the way she was because of Sasuke. He was the reason why she wanted to be loud and noticeable. He was the reason why she rivaled Sakura in everything.

"I…" the shadow user looked up at the darkening sky. "I really don't know what to say."

Another dry laugh.

"I guess I should have expected that." Ino finally looked back at Shikamaru to see him staring up at the sky. She smiled softly, enjoying how innocent he looked in that moment. "I'm just a little confused. When I dieted… it was for Sasuke. The way I dressed… was for Sasuke. I dedicated most of my energy to impressing him and now…"

"Now you feel nothing," Shikamaru finished, meeting Ino's startled gaze.

She nodded, features resolute. "Yeah, nothing. I promised myself that while he was gone I'd become stronger. I wanted to be prepared to impress him if he ever returned to Konoha. But now I just…"

"Feel nothing," Shikamaru repeated. Ino smiled sadly and nodded once again.

"Yeah," she whispered.

The two sat, watching the sun disappear. "Thanks for listening, Shikamaru. Even though it doesn't seem that way all the time, you're a great listener."

Shikamaru shrugged and flopped back down unto his back. He didn't know about Ino but he was planning on taking a quick snooze before heading home. The crickets always soothed him when his mind was whirring. And for some reason, after Ino's little confession, his head wouldn't stop spinning. Something bloomed in his chest when she uttered those words. "I'm over him."

Pride? Admiration? Relief? He slightly winced at that word. Why would he feel relief?

"Well," Ino sighed, releasing her legs from her grip. "I better head home now. It's getting late and Daddy will kill me if I'm not home on time."

Shikamaru nodded, knowing very well what it was like to be on the receiving end of Inoichi's wrath. "Later," he mumbled, his eyes fluttering close. He opened his ears to the sound of lulling crickets and Ino shifting in the grass until he felt it.

The feeling of soft lips pressing against his cheek.

Shikamaru stiffened and wondered whether he should open his eyes. He was afraid of the pink hue his face would take on if he saw Ino's expression. Had she just… kissed him? Sure it was just a little harmless peck, on the cheek much less, but considering the subject of their discussion…

"Thank you, Shikamaru," a soft whisper breathed against his ear, causing a spine tingling sensation to course through him.

The sound of bending grass slowly descended down the hill and Shikamaru suddenly realized something.

Maybe Kurenai was the reason why Asuma Sensei took up smoking, because at that moment… the lazy ninja really needed a cigarette.

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So what do you guys think?! I thought it would be fascinating to explore the idea of Ino voicing and realizing that she's over Sasuke. This is my first ShikaIno fanfic so sorry if it isn't amazing. I was going to add more but I didn't want to jeopardize the whole thing messing up so... yeah:)

Thankyou for reading and thanks even more if you **review**!

"Review"_*Shikamaru stares with smoldering brown eyes*_ "You know you want to."


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